Glen Sather to remain Rangers’ president at least through next season

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Glen Sather is committed to the Rangers for the foreseeable future as the franchise looks to rebuild. The Daily News confirmed a report that the 74-year-old team president agreed to stay with the organization at least through next season for what will be his 19th with the Rangers.

Sather joined the Rangers as president and general manager on June 1, 2000 after leading the Edmonton Oilers to five Stanley Cups over 21 years. He stepped aside from his GM post on July 1, 2015 with Jeff Gorton being promoted while Sather remained president.

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After not making the playoffs during Sather's first four seasons with the franchise, the Rangers have made the playoffs in 11 of the past 12 seasons, reaching one Stanley Cup Final and two other conference finals.

But the Cup has been elusive, and with a deep playoff run seeming unlikely this season amid poor play and mounting injuries, Sather, Gorton and Co. are looking to freshen up the roster with youth and speed.

A letter sent to season-ticket holders on Thursday formally stating the organization's plans to make moves geared toward improving the club's future prospects was signed by both Sather and Gorton before the two addressed reporters the same day.

Glen Sather has been the Rangers’ president since 2000. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

There are two weeks before the trade deadline and the Rangers are looking to deal before then. Pending unrestricted free agents Rick Nash and Michael Grabner have generated interest from Cup-contending teams as rentals.

There's plenty of buzz around Nash, who submitted his 12-team trade list to the Rangers and could be the missing piece for several Western Conference teams like Nashville and Dallas. Nick Holden and David Desharnais are also pending unrestricted free agents.

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Another day, another Rangers injury. The snake-bitten Blueshirts lost defenseman Steven Kampfer for 4-to-6 weeks with a fractured hand, creating yet another void on their blue line.

Kampfer had been on the top pair with Brady Skjei the previous two games.

Kampfer suffered the fracture Sunday on a shot by Winnipeg's Dustin Byfuglien in the second period and played the rest of the game with it, logging 8:33 of his season-high 22:39 of ice time in the third period.

The Rangers called up defenseman Ryan Sproul from AHL Hartford to replace him. They've had to dip into the Hartford well three times within the last five days with Ryan McDonagh (upper body) and Marc Staal (cervical strain) injured, and now with Brendan Smith in the AHL trying to find his game. Neal Pionk and John Gilmour had spent all season with Hartford before making their NHL debuts Friday, and Tony DeAngelo spent three months with Hartford.